Best Friends Forever
by epicinsanity101
Summary: Edward and Jessica have been friends since childhood. They've shared laughs, insults and moments of pure perfection. But as they grow older, Edward's attentions soon shift to the enigmatic Bella Swan. Could Jessica be jealous? AU
1. 1995: Beginnings

_Summer, 1995_

Moving was an integral part of young Edward Cullen's life. He was only eight years old, but had already been in more places than he could count on his fingers. His family (made up of a father, mother and menacing older sister unit) usually took to living in apartment buildings. The only time he had been inside real houses were when he visited his temporary friends.

So it was pretty obvious that he wasn't used to living in a permanent home in a permanent town where his stay was most likely permanent.

His father, Carlisle Cullen, had gotten a job at the local hospital that had an excellent salary. Edward's mother, Esme Cullen, practically drooled over the idea of owning her own home to decorate and to invite her silly, chattering friends to.

Edward was livid. He craved change in his life, even though he was only eight and his life hadn't even begun to start. In the family station wagon on the way to their new home Edward made a decision. He would stay in his room forever, only coming out for meals and a trip to the bathroom.

Carlisle pulled into the driveway with ease. The house was a tidy split level on a cul-de-sac where children played double-dutch and hopscotch. Some of the children became interested when they saw the family clamber out of the car. Edward remained strapped in, his arms folded firmly across his chest.

"Don't be like that, dear," Esme said, a warm smile on her face. She went to go unbuckle her son, but he wiggled out of her grip.

"You're such a baby," Alice, his older sister, teased him. "Aren't you excited about the house?"

"I don't want to live in a house," Edward snapped.

"Yes you do," Alice replied. "You have to because I'm older and what I say goes. Alright?"

Esme looked like she was about to cry. She was an overly emotional person. Somehow it didn't drive her husband crazy. Carlisle wrapped a reassuring arm around Esme and smiled.

"How about we go inside," he said. "Edward will come in when he wants to."

Esme nodded wordlessly as Carlisle ushered her up the stone steps toward the house. Alice rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at her younger brother.

"Baby!"

She laughed and ran up the stairs after Carlisle and Esme. Edward stared up at the house like it was Death itself. Maybe he could skip the entire staying-in-room-forever plan and just live in the backseat.

A few meters away, an eight year old Jessica Stanley was cracking her cotton candy flavored gum while she watched her friends racing bikes around the cul-de-sac. Most of her friends had learned to ride without the use of training wheels except for Mike Newton. Naturally he was teased at every given moment.

"Only wimps ride with training wheels," Eric Yorkie said as he attempted to pop a wheelie. The front wheel slightly lifted off the asphalt which gave him some sort of rise.

"My dad hasn't had time to teach me yet," Mike said, flushing the same shade as Jessica's polka dotted sundress.

"I don't want to be seen with a baby on training wheels," Jessica said. She blew a large bubble and popped it with her fake press on nails.

Mike opened his mouth to protest when Lauren Mallory cut him off. "Jess, you don't even have a bike."

"So?" Jessica rolled her eyes.

She got annoyed at Lauren easily. Mostly because she was jealous of how many Barbie dolls she owned. Jessica's mom only let her have three. She didn't even own a Ken! Who would Barbie take on picnics or to the movies?

"Just you guys wait!" Mike said. "I'll learn how to ride without training wheels and be awesome! Then you won't be able to make fun of me anymore!"

Mike was scrawny and as short as his temper. His mother was a paranoid mess who constantly doted on him and washed dirt off his face with her Mom Spit. Jessica was sure that she would have plenty to tease Mike about in the future.

Lauren shielded her eyes from the sun. She was looking in the direction of the house across the street. The same house that had been on the market for ages. The FOR SALE sign was now covered with a sticker that read SOLD! A grubby station wagon was parked in the driveway, one of the passenger doors opened.

"Hey you guys," Lauren said, pointing. "Look over there."

"What?" Mike asked,

"Looks like Jess is getting a new neighbor," Lauren said.

Jessica stood up from her spot on Eric's front lawn to get a better view. Her eyes widened behind her posh movie star sunglasses.

"Do you think they have a kid?" she asked.

"I hope it's a boy," Eric said. He turned toward Mike and sneered, "I'm getting sick of all these girls around."

"Shuddup!" Mike exclaimed. He lunged at Eric who promptly pedaled away at top speed.

"We need to get over there and check it out," Lauren said, placing both hands on her skinny hips.

"I'm not going over there." Mike shook his head. "I hate new people."

"Baby, baby!" Lauren sang.

Mike punched Lauren in the shoulder. From where Jessica was standing it didn't look that fatal (Mike Newton's punches were notoriously harmless), but Lauren fell to the sidewalk, writhing in agony.

"Ow!" she wailed so loud the whole neighborhood could hear her. "Mike! You hit me! Why did you do that?"

Fat alligator tears spilled out of Lauren's eyes as she rolled around the ground. Mike stared at his fist like it was the bio-weapon that helped caused the apocalypse. He turned to Jessica, tears welling up in his eyes too.

"Don't tell, Jess!" he shouted over Lauren's wails.

"Lauren's faking it," Jessica said, kicking Lauren in the butt. "Shut up, Lauren! Gosh!"

She continued crying until Mrs. Yorkie came out of her house to see what all the ruckus was about. She saw Lauren in "pain" and rushed over to aid her.

"What happened here?" she asked, her dark eyes glinting. It was no secret that Mrs. Yorkie was the strictest mom on the cul-de-sac. The woman had eyes in the back of her head. She would ground everyone if she had the chance.

"M – Mike p – punched me!" Lauren choked out.

Mrs. Yorkie glared at Mike. He flinched under her almighty gaze.

"Young man!" This was how her usual speals began. "I'm going to call your mother this instant. We do not play rough around her, young man, not at all. Now apologize to Lauren."

Mike would have rather ate his own foot. He muttered out something that sounded like an apology, but the Yorkie wasn't having it. She just kept yapping until Mike burst into real tears of his own. Tears didn't faze the Yorkie.

Jessica decided to get out of that mess while she could. If the Yorkie spotted her she would no doubt be tagged an assailant in the crime. Her mother was stressed out enough at it was without the Yorkie barking in her ear.

Jess stole across the street to her house. She was about to slip inside when she noticed that there was someone sitting in the car parked in the neighbor's driveway. It was a kid around her age. A boy with messy auburn hair, a pained expression and both feet planted firmly on the seat in front of him. He looked like a statue.

Jessica adjusted her movie star glasses and blew a bubble for good luck.

She approached the car cautiously so the statue boy wouldn't see her coming. She was planning to surprise him. He looked like he could use a good scare.

Jessica pressed herself up against the car waiting for the exact moment. She counted in her head _1…2…3…_

"BOO!"

Jessica jumped at the statue boy, her hands up above her head and her mouth wide open so her gum was visible.

The boy didn't even bat an eyelash. He stared at her blankly.

Jessica's arms returned to her sides. Her shoulders slumped and she chomped her gum, irritated.

"What gives?" she asked. "You weren't even scared."

"Who are you?"

Jessica's smile brightened. She placed one hand on her hip and jerked her thumb at herself. "I'm Jessica Ruth Stanley. I'm eight years old and my favorite color is Tickle Me Pink. I live next door."

The boy wasn't amused by her adorable introduction. He continued to stare at her.

"Now you're supposed to say what your name is."

The boy turned his head away from her.

He must have been from a different planet. One of those aliens her brother read about in comic books. The aliens usually had pale green skin and multiple eyes. Sometimes they disguised themselves as humans so they could study their race.

Jessica climbed over the boy so she could sit next to him. She then began to poke him in the shoulder.

"What are you doing?" he asked becoming nervous now.

"Probing you," she replied simply. "To see if you're an alien."

The boy grabbed her finger. "I'm not an alien. I'm a person."

"People have names," Jessica said, returning her hands to her lap.

"Edward," the boy sighed.

"What's your favorite color?"

"I don't have one."

"Everyone has a favorite color."

"Well I don't."

Jessica reached out and pinched Edward's arm.

"Grey."

"That's boring!" Jessica exclaimed. "No one uses _smoky grey_ when they color in their coloring books!"

Edward was becoming exasperated with this girl. He didn't like her attitude or the way she looked.

Her frizzy brunette locks were tied into pigtails with pink ribbons. She was wearing an obnoxious polka dot dress and multi-colored bangles on her wrists. Her fingers were adorned with long, plastic nails with flowers painted on them. He never saw a girl dressed as annoyingly as her.

"Green." Edward said the first color that popped into his head.

Jessica tapped her chin thoughtfully. "But what sort of green? They're a lot of different kinds of green."

He never wanted to hit a girl more than he wanted to at that moment. He was even nice around his own sister (granted she could take him in a fight).

"I like Sea Green," Jessica said, dreamily.

"Well, look at this!"

Esme was looking at the two kids sitting next to each other in the station wagon. Edward's eyes were pleading, telling his mother to save him from this crazy girl. Jessica took off her sunglasses and flashed Esme a dazzling smile.

"I'm Jessica Stanley." She stuck out her hand for Esme to shake. Esme laughed politely and shook the little girl's hand. "I live next door. I was just getting to know Eddie."

_Eddie?_

"How nice," Esme said. She turned toward her son. "Looks like you've already found yourself a cute little friend, Edward." She ruffled his hair.

"Jessica!" a woman's voice called out. "Jessica Stanley where are you?"

Jessica quickly scrambled out of the car, elbowing Edward in the eye in the process. She shook Esme's hand again before skipping over to her mother.

"Why did Mrs. Yorkie call me just now screaming?" the older woman asked in a tired voice,

"No idea," Jessica said innocently before disappearing indoors.

Edward stared off into the distance regretting his last minute choice of the backseat.

**A/N: So one day I get the idea to right a multi-fic Ed/Jess. My brain goes "Hey dude this is a good idea!" So here is the first chapter! I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for reading my strange brain alien.**


	2. 1996: Fireflies and Sleepovers

_Summer, 1996_

"I'm SO bored!"

Nine year old Jessica was lying on the bedroom floor of her best friend Edward. He was at his desk trying with all his might to ignore her. She had burst into his room moment before complaining about the lack fun things to do. Edward was working on his summer reading homework that Jessica had forgotten about ages ago.

"You and me." She sat up and began to poke him in the side. "We need to do something crazy."

"I have to finish this, Jessica," Edward said, his eyes glues to the papers spread out before him.

She tugged on the hem of his _Star Wars_ t-shirt. "Dude, c'mon! Don't be a nerd. I don't want to be best buds with a _nerd_."

Edward sighed. "Fine. What do you want to do?"

"We should call up Emmett," Jessica said. She was happy that he decided to play with her. It was almost the end of August. School was looming on the horizon and Jess was dreading her return. She wanted to have as much fun as possible in the short time she had left.

"Not Emmett," Edward said, sporting his usual frown. He rarely smiled around any of his friends (or _her_ friends actually). "You plus him equals trouble."

Jessica sneezed.

"I'm going to call him anyway," she said, sticking out her tongue. "And you can't do anything about it! Na-na-na-na-naa-na!"

Edward watched Jessica skip out of his room singing at the top of her lungs. He grimaced. All he wanted was a quiet trouble free day. Since Jessica had entered his life nothing had been the same. She was ten times annoying than Alice (who nowadays kept referring to Jess as Edward's "wittle girlfwend").

She never listened to him and made it her job to make him beyond miserable. She thought that they were "best friends", but he wasn't as sure.

Alice poked her head into Edward's bedroom. She had recently turned eleven and got the idea in her head that she Queen of Everything.

"Were you and Jessica kissing?" she teased, smiling brightly.

Edward scrunched up his nose and said, "Leave me alone."

"You should be nicer," Alice said. "Girls don't like it when boys are mean to them."

"I can be mean to anyone I want," Edward said, indignantly. "She's annoying."

Jessica was outside of Edward's window now. She leant on the window sill grinning like a mad man. "Emmett's coming over. He's bringing Rosalie."

"I don't like Rosalie," Edward said, making a face.

"You don't like anyone."

"She has a crush on me!"

"Ew! Who would like you?"

"Rosalie?" Alice asked, interested. "Who's that?"

Edward shooed her out of his room and slammed the door. On returning to the window he saw Jessica hopping around on one foot.

"It's not my fault Emmett likes her," she said. "It's so gross how he always talks about her. She's not very nice, either."

Rosalie Hale was a year older than them. She was very pretty with her pale blue eyes that made her look like an Ice Queen. She practically ignored everyone in their elementary school except Edward. She deemed him worthy of her friendship and followed him around like some deranged stalker.

A few minutes later, Emmett arrived on the cul-de-sac. He was riding his bike with Rosalie perched atop the handlebars. Her white blonde hair was tied into a ponytail that kept smacking Emmett in the face.

"Hey you guys," he said, waving at Edward and Jessica.

The pair had been sitting on Edward's front lawn waiting for them to arrive. Jessica jumped up and waved her hands around like a helicopter.

"Only Mike and Lauren can play today," Jessica explained. "Eric's grounded again."

Rosalie gracefully hopped off of Emmett's handle bars. She sidled up to Edward who narrowed his eyes at Jessica. He was clearly blaming her for his misery yet again.

Mike and Lauren ran over to the four of them, waving and smiling. Lauren noticed Rosalie and frowned. Lauren didn't like it when people were prettier than she was. The animosity made Mike nervous and inched closer to Jessica who walloped him on the back of the head.

"Okay!" Jessica clapped her hands together. "Hide and seek!"

Rosalie stifled a pretty laugh behind her hand. "I thought that was a baby game."

Jessica put both hands on her hips and glared at Rosalie. "Fine, Rosie. How about we play EXTREME hide and seek? For grownups, y'know?"

The rules were that one person would count to a hundred while the other hid. No place was off limits as long as it was outdoors. Base was the sandbox in Mike's backyard. If you were tagged first there would be a punishment, but Jessica hadn't thought of a good one yet.

"If you're tagged first you have to kiss someone the seeker chooses." Emmett smiled deviously.

Edward and Mike blanched. Jessica laughed. "That's good! Now who will be the seeker?"

"I'll do it."

Alice was sitting on the stoop of the Cullen's house. She had been eavesdropping on the kid's plans and thought it sounded like fun.

"No way," Edward shook his head. "You can't play."

"Yeah she can," Jessica snapped. She had taken a liking to Alice. She was cute and girly and wore totally rad clothes. "You don't want to be the seeker, do you Ed?"

Edward clenched his teeth. "Geez."

Alice smiled, covered her eyes with her hands and began to count to a hundred. The kids fanned out to find a place to hide.

* * *

Jessica climbed into the dilapidated tree-house in her backyard. Her brother, Elijah, used to play in the tree-house when he was little. Now that he was in high school he thought it was dumb and childish. He was busy hanging out with his friends and trying to get girls to kiss him.

The tree-house smelled like boys. There were boxes of DC comics stacked almost up to the ceiling. Fake swords her dad had fashioned out of wood were hanging on pegs on the wall. A trapdoor was hidden somewhere on the floor, but it was getting too dark to see properly.

Jessica plopped down on the creaky tree-house floor. She was never allowed in when she was younger. There was a strict NO GIRLS ALLOWED policy enforced. Elijah would kick her out and call her annoying. Edward reminded her of pre-high school Elijah. He acted like he hated her, but inside he actually enjoyed her being around. At least… that's what she thought.

There was a loud rustling noise coming from outside. Jessica tensed. She inhaled deeply and squeezed her eyes shut. Hopefully no one would see her.

"Stupid ladder," a familiar voice muttered.

Jessica poked her head out the front door to see who it was. Edward was trying in vain to climb the rope ladder leading up to the tree-house. He kept looking at the ground and taking deep breaths. She smirked.

"Afraid of heights?" she questioned.

"No." Edward glared up at her. "This ladder is broken."

"No it isn't," Jessica said. "_I_ climbed up it."

"I'm gonna fall off," he said, a hint of worry in his voice.

Jessica laid flat on her stomach and held out both hands toward him. "No worried, dude. I'll pull you up."

Hesitantly, Edward grabbed onto her hands. She managed to lift him into the tree-house with ease. She noted how he was almost as puny as Mike. Once inside, Edward tore his hands out of Jessica's grasp.

"I don't have cooties." Jessica rolled her eyes. "Boys are so dumb."

"You're nails were scratching me," Edward snapped. "Girls shouldn't have such long fingernails. It's annoying."

Jessica scratched his arm, on purpose this time. He glowered at her as he massaged his wounds.

"You're the annoying one," she exclaimed. "Being so darn mean all the time! I think you and Rosalie would make a good kissy lovey-dovey couple. Maybe you should let Alice catch you so you can kiss _her_."

Jessica crawled over to the opposite side of the tree-house. Edward stared at her back, both eyebrows raised. Girls were so weird.

"What are you so mad about?" Edward asked, cautiously. He was rarely on the receiving end of a woman's hostility. Alice and Esme were usually cheerful and doted on him constantly. Meanwhile, Jessica was always mad at him for something stupid.

Jessica replied with a sniffle. She was crying. Edward's eyes widened.

"No – what – Jess!"

"I hate you!" she cried. "You're just like my brother!"

"Stop crying right now!" Edward shouted at her.

"You hate me too, right?" Jess kept crying just to upset him further. "You don't like me being around, right? You think I'm _annoying_."

Edward crossed his arms. "You _are_ annoying. Crying so loud in the middle of a game like hide and seek. Alice is going to find us."

"My brother thought I was annoying too." Jessica lowered her voice. "Now he acts like I don't exist. I want to be friends, okay! I don't want you to pretend I'm not around!"

She buried her face in her knees to hide her red and tear stained face. She was totally embarrassed by her outburst. Even though he was mean to her, Jessica wanted so desperately to be friends with Edward. She liked to hang out with him. He acted like a grandma.

"I never said I hated you," Edward said, embarrassed too. "You're just…different than the other girls I know."

"So do you want to be friends forever?" Jessica instantly brightened.

"Forever?"

"Forever."

Night had officially fallen while they had been talking. Edward was sure that the others had given up on them by now.

"Let's go back," Edward said.

"Alright." Jessica wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "Do you need me to help you down?"

"_No_."

Jessica laughed. She crawled back toward the door and stuck her head out. Edward heard her gasp.

"Is it Alice?" Edward whispered.

"Fireflies."

Balls of tiny light were floating listlessly around Jessica's backyard. Mrs. Stanley was sitting on the patio smoking a cigarette. Mr. Stanley was in the kitchen making dinner.

"I want one," Jessica said.

"What would you do with it?" Edward asked.

"A night light."

"Don't be dumb."

Jessica smiled. "I'm glad we're friends, okay?"

"Yeah."

* * *

Ultimately, Alice tagged Mike first. He had been hiding behind the post box at the end of the street. Alice chose Edward for Mike's kiss causing both boys to run for their lives.

* * *

At precisely nine thirty, Esme tucked her son into bed and planted a kiss on his forehead. Edward closed his eyes, but kept remembering Jessica's smile. His stomach fluttered uncomfortable and he felt like puking. That girl was even invading his thoughts.

"Psst!"

Edward froze. What was that noise? The boogeyman? The monster he knew was in his closest, but was too full of pride to ask Carlisle for help?

"Hey!" It was just Jessica. She was wiggling herself through Edward's window like a cat burglar. Well, if cat burglars wore pink Barbie nightgowns. "It's me. Jessica Stanley."

Edward pulled the covers over his head. He hoped that this was all a nightmare. It wasn't, Jessica shuffled over to Edward's bed and began prodding him."

"Wake up," she whispered.

"What do you want?" he grumbled.

"Surprise slumber party!"

"…"

Jessica sighed. How typical of him to forget best friend etiquette.

"Since we're super special mega awesome best friends forever now," Jessica explained. "we need to have a sleepover!"

"Those are for girls," Edward frowned.

"Move over, dude."

Edward didn't budge. Shearing the same bed with Jessica was gross. She would make the blankets smell like girl.

"I'll give you candy if you let me sleep here," Jessica said, clasping her hands together like she was praying. "A whole Milky Way!"

Edward paused. "Hersey Bar. King Size."

She nodded vigorously. Edward reluctantly moved over to make room for Jessica. She crawled next to him and shut her eyes.

"I like your race car bed," she whispered.

"Don't drool on it," he replied.

"I won't. Cross my heart and hope to die."

Within minutes she fell fast asleep. She didn't snore like Carlisle, so that was good. Her bushy hair tickled his nose. It smelled like a mango smoothie.

Soon, Edward drifted into a peaceful sleep accompanied by dreams of fireflies and smiles.

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed or read or story alerted this so far :D I LOVE YOU AND WILL BUY YOU ANY CANDY YOU DESIRE! (this is not a bribe, ok?)**


	3. 1997: Jealousy

_Spring, 1997_

Every year the fifth graders got to go on a big whale watch field trip extravaganza. The kids had spent months selling candy and pizza rolls so they could go. Mrs. Stanley was getting sick of her daughter's constant babbling about the extravaganza.

Edward was her partner, much to his chagrin. No one else wanted to be paired with Jessica Stanley's BFF. If anyone even brought up the topic she threatened violence.

Everything was going fine until Jessica actually saw the boat. The other kids were excited about seeing whales and eating the complimentary snacks. Jessica just stood on the dock, staring up at the boat with wide eyes.

"Jess, honey," Mrs. Weber, the chaperone for Jessica's group, sounded worried. She was maybe the youngest parents attending the trip. The other dads were lusting after her secretly. "What's wrong?"

"Are you afraid of the water?" Angela Weber, a bespectacled girl who moved to town earlier that year, asked. "I haven't been in a swimming pool since I almost drowned two summers ago."

The only thing you had to know about Angela to be friends with her was that she was death prone. Her stories usually ended with her on the brink of death. She could bite it doing the simplest task.

"I'll protect you from the water," Emmett said, with a friendly grin. He was Angela's partner for the trip. No one else wanted to go near her since they thought she was bad luck. "Don't you worry, Lady Stanley."

"Jess isn't scared of water," Edward said.

"That boat is freaking huge," Jessica said.

"Lady Obvious," Emmett joked.

Jessica shot him a nasty glare. "Ever hear of the _Titanic_, dude? That ship must have been ten times as huge as this one! Everyone thought things would go awesome, but then ship hits an iceberg! BAM! DEATH EVERYWHERE!"

Mrs. Weber laughed loudly to drown out Jessica's voice. People began to look at them strangely.

"Sweetie," she said. "This ship is perfectly safe. That was a long time ago."

Jessica crossed her arms and stood her ground. "I am so not getting on that thing."

Edward ran a hand through his hair. "Jess! You must have known that we were going on a boat for the whale watch."

"I thought we were just going to stand on a dock."

Angela was beginning to look worried too. Mrs. Weber knew that look. If the Stanley girl kept yapping about impending doom then Angela would refuse to get on the boat as well.

"Jessica," Edward said slowly. "If you don't get on that boat…I won't be your best friend anymore."

Jessica glared at him. "Don't you dare say that!"

Edward and Emmett began walking toward the boat where kids and chaperones were giving two men their tickets. "I guess Emmett will have to be my new best friend. Relationships sure are hard these days."

Jessica pursed her green apple glossed lips. She grabbed Angela's wrist and dragged her after the two boys.

"I guess Angela's _my _new best friend now!" she shouted at them.

"That's nice of you, Jessica," Angela said, adjusting her yellow cat eye glasses with her free hand.

"Don't get your hopes up, dude," Jessica whispered in her ear. "I'm just doing this to make Ed jealous."

Angela looked disheartened. "Oh."

"We can still be _friends_ though."

The girls gave the men their tickets and walked up the ramp to the boat. Edward and Emmett were sitting on a cushioned bench near the edge of the boat. Jessica plopped down next to Edward, dragging Angela down with her.

"I wonder if there's a candy store in town," Jessica said. "Maybe I'll buy you a big, expensive candy bar, Angie."

"I'm allergic to nuts," Angela said.

"I'm so glad we're best friends." Jessica ignored her.

Emmett raised an eyebrow. He leaned in closer to Edward and whispered, "What's with her _now_?"

"I've learned not to pay attention," Edward whispered back.

* * *

After realizing that making Edward crave her attention and friendship through the powers of jealously wasn't working, Angela and Jessica hit the snack bar. The whale watch was turning out to be a complete bore. The only exciting thing Jessica had seen all day were several kids vomiting into the ocean.

"Let's play a game," Jessica said.

The girls were sitting on stools and eating out of a bowl of chips. Angela stopped nibbling on her chip.

"What kind of game?" she asked.

"We have to ask each other questions," Jessica replied. "No limits. It can be as personal as you want."

Angela hesitated before nodding. "You can go first. I can't think of a good one right now."

Jessica spun around on her stool. Most of the kids were outside with binoculars scoping out whales so the snack bar was practically empty. The sick, green kids were seated on the couches being comforted by their chaperones.

"Got one!" Jessica exclaimed. The chaperones frowned at her. "Can I wear your glasses?"

"That counts as a question?" Angela asked, but handed her glasses over anyway.

Jessica admired them. "They're so cute! Maybe I should buy a pair of glasses without the lenses in them. I mean, you look awesome in these. Like Lisa Loeb."

Angela flushed. Jessica put on the glasses and felt a wave of nauseou wash over her. The whole room turned into a kaleidoscope.

"Damn!" she said. "You must have same really bad eyesight."

"I get it from my dad," Angela said, a note of pride in her voice. "Now it's my turn to ask, okay?"

Jessica took off the glasses and blinked.

"Are you and Edward…" Angela lowered her voice. "_dating_?"

Jessica coughed on a chip she had just taken a bite out of. Angela gasped and started spazzing out.

"I'm sorry!" she said. "It's just that you and Edward seem really close! And a lot of the girls in our class get mad when they see you together!"

One of the chaperones shushed her. Angela looked like she was going to cry.

"We're not dating," Jessica said. "Those girls are just pissed cause they have mega crushes on Ed. It's disgusting really.

She was used to people thinking that Edward was going out with her. All the girls in class were always saying mean things to her and threatening her to leave Edward alone or else. It was getting old. The next girl to get attitudinal with her would get a black eye.

"We're close because we've been friends since we were eight," Jessica explained. "That's all. Nothing lovey-dovey happening at all."

Angela nodded, but for some reason didn't believe that.

* * *

After the unsuccessful whale watch, the groups got to go explore the city. Mrs. Weber took the kids to a small ice cream shop near the docks. They sat at a table with an umbrella shading them from the blazing May sun. Mrs. Weber sat at her own table chatting with another chaperone.

"I saw a turtle eat a plastic bag," Emmett told them. "It was pretty bleak."

"Are they trying to destroy our innocence?" Jessica sighed.

"Stop whining," Edward said. "You had fun."

Jessica shrugged. "Anywhere is fun if they have free food."

She stole some of Edward's ice cream sundae and stuck it in her mouth. He shot her a nasty look which she returned with an innocent smile. Angela and Emmett exchanged looks of amusement.

"What are you two smiling at?" Jessica asked as she tried to stick the dessert spoon on her nose.

Angela blushed and looked down at her saddle shoes. Emmett became interested in a nearby seagull. Jessica shrugged indifferently and went back to her ice cream. Suddenly, she felt someone tapping her shoulder.

"What?" Jessica asked sharply. She turned her head to get a good look at who was tapping her. "Can't you see I'm busy here?"

The mysterious tapper was a boy who she recognized from school. He was in another class, but that grungy ponytail was hard to ignore. Jessica knew that the girls liked him almost as much as Edward. She had to admit that he was sort of cute, but she had no time for boys. She was too busy making sure that Edward didn't get into any trouble.

"Sorry to bother you," the boy said, laughing. "I was sitting at that table over there couldn't help noticing how pretty you looked."

Jessica scrunched up her nose. "Shuddup."

"Ha," Edward said, his voice hollow (unlike normal ten year old boys Edward rarely laughed at anything like farting or dudes getting shut down by their nutty best friends).

Emmett laughed at the boy's confused expression. "Jessica doesn't like boys, James."

The boy named James took it upon himself to squeeze himself in between Angela and Jessica. Angela's whole body tensed. If her elbow touched James' elbow the world would surely implode.

"Shouldn't you be with your own group?" Edward asked, coldly.

"It's a free country." James shrugged, his gaze still on Jessica's face caked with hot fudge sauce.

The girls at James' table looked appalled by the new seating arrangement. That stupid ninny Jessica Stanley was always going around stealing their men! What did they like about her? Her big mouth? Her poor sense of style? Definitely not her hair. Frizzy brown bushes weren't by any mean attractive.

"Jesus H. Christ," Jessica muttered. She had heard her father say that under his breath when something bothersome was going down at the house. "Can't a girl enjoy her ice cream in peace? Look, dude. If you like me then you'll have to wait cause, FYI, I'm marrying Batman."

James laughed. "You're cute."

Jessica bared her teeth that were stained in cherry juice. "Fuck off."

The table went silent. Angela stared at her temporary best friend with wide eyes. Said temporary best friend hummed a little song and went back to her ice scream. Edward was the only one unfazed by Jessica's coarse grown up late night TV language. He was staring daggers at James. He was sitting too close to Jessica and it irked him.

Usually Jess repelled the boys at her school with her woman insanity. Whenever they saw her stomping around the playground they would scurry off to safety. Edward took pride in being the only guy who wasn't scared of her.

It was painfully obvious that this James guy was mucking up his pride.

The F word shock settled and James went right back to his wooing,

"Do you want to go out with me?" he asks.

"I thought I told you to go away,"

"I really like you," James said. "You have moxy."

Jessica threw down her spoon on the table. She was getting mad. Apparently James wasn't as clued into Jessica's moods as Edward was. He smirked behind his hand.

"If you don't leave me alone I'm going to call the fuzz," Jessica warned.

"I think you should do it," Emmett said. "Those nails are deadly."

Fortunately, James' gaggle of girls called out for him and he had to leave. Before returning to his group he flashed Jessica a charming smile.

"Maybe I'll see you around." He talked like the pervy guys in music videos.

Jessica rolled her eyes. "Whatever, dude."

"Your funeral," Emmett said. Then to Edward, "Why do people never listen to me?"

Edward wasn't listening. He was picturing shoving James down a well.

* * *

"Dude, I have to pee."

"Then go to the bathroom."

"The bus bathroom? No way! There might be an alligator in there!"

"Do you want to be holding it for another bazillion minutes?"

Jessica hurried off to the bathroom in the back of the bus. She shouldn't have drunk that whole Big Gulp at the last rest stop. Edward leant back in his seat, staring out the window at the passing scenery. Angela and Emmett were sitting in the seats in front of him. They were taking turns playing Emmett's Game Boy. Angela character kept dying.

"Hey, man." James plopped down in the seat next to Edward. "Where's that cute girl?"

"None of your beeswax, _man_," Edward said concentrating on reading the road signs.

_Upcoming Attractions: Waffle World! _

"Do you want to switch seats?" James asked.

"No. Why would I do that?"

_Visit the Alligator Museum! Exit 23!_

"I want to talk to her," James explained in an annoyingly matter of fact way. "Maybe convince her to be my girlfriend."

"Jessica doesn't want to be anyone girlfriend," Edward said.

"How do you know?" James was slowly getting frustrated with Edward's cold attitude toward him. "Do you like-like her or something?"

The bus hit a bump in the road. Edward smacked his head on the window pane.

"No!" he spat. "Me like-like that moron? Maybe when I'm dead."

James snickered.

_HOME OF THE MOST WENDIGO SIGHTINGS IN AMERICA! EXIT 25!_

"I don't like-like her," Edward said.

"Like-like who?"

Jessica was standing next to James, hands on hips. She didn't appear to be in good spirits after her trip to the bathroom.

"Get out of my seat, punk," Jessica said in her best Dirty Harry voice.

James grinned up at her. "Hello, babe."

She replied by hauling back and punching James right in the face.

**A/N: So as you can see, Jessica's violent and abrasive tendancies have started to show themselves :D Next time we'll have Bella showing up and everything going to Hell for our young heroine. You see, in all my fanfictions Bella has to appear and ruin everything. It's a metaphor for life, or something.**


	4. 1999: Love and Haircuts

_Fall, 1999_

Middle school was much different than elementary school. Girls spent more times on their hair and clothes and insults. Boys still liked to talk about gross stuff, but they also liked trying to impress girls. Cliques were formed and Jessica was sure she didn't belong to a good one.

Her circle of friends had slowly whittled down to Edward and Angela. Eric and Mike hung out with the guys who liked sports, Lauren with the girls who knew how to French kiss and Emmett with anyone who would let him talk about the latest sci-fi novel he had read. Sometimes James and his girlfriend, Victoria, sat with them when they weren't feeling each other up in the downstairs bathroom.

The remaining trio sat at a circular table shoved in the corner so no one would have to look at them.

"This crap looks like it's gonna kill me," Jessica said, poking her dry hamburger with her finger. This week her press on nails were bright orange with stripes of lime green. When she died she wanted to be buried with press ons.

"Then don't eat it," Edward replied simply.

"Maybe I'll keep it as a pet," Jessica said. "Like one of those groovy pet rock things my dad had in the olden days."

"If you don't want to eat it then throw it away," Edward said, becoming exasperated. "Stop prodding it."

She slowly poked it again. "Does it bother you?"

"Yes. Stop doing it, for god's sake."

"You two fight like an old married couple," Angele said, not looking up from the book she was reading.

"As if!" Jessica laughed. "Ed would be the worst husband! Probably would iron his unmentionables at two in the morning or something else completely anal.

Edward twitched. Recently whenever Jessica said or did something stupid Edward would twitch rather unattractively. It didn't help that stupidity was all she seemed capable of. The bickering though was cut short by the sudden appearance of a frightened brunette. She stood near their table holding a lunch tray.

"Whatchoo looking at?" Jessica asked the girl in an unnecessarily deep voice.

The girl let out a squeak, her cheeks red. "I was just wondering if I could sit with you. The other tables look really scary."

Jessica held up her hamburger. She made the buns open and close like a mouth. "Those dudes are straight up jerksicles," she made the hamburger say.

"Ignore her," Edward said, dryly. "Everyone else does."

The girl gave a small grateful smile and sat down in between Jessica and Angela. She glanced at Edward beneath her hair and then back at her food.

"My name is Bella," the girl said. "I moved here from Arizona a few days ago,"

"I'm Jessica," Jessica said, pointing toward herself, "This is my posse: Edward Cullen and Angela Weber. We pretty much rule this school."

Angela rolled her eyes. "Or so you like to think."

Edward was glaring out the window. Bella thought he looked cute with his face all scrunched up. He caught her staring and she turned her gaze to the tabletop. Angela noticed this exchange, but didn't think anything of it. If this Bella girl liked Edward than his best friend forever would have a few choice words.

"I think you and I are going to be good friends," Jessica said, putting her arm around Bella's shoulders. "We can talk about girly stuff like _tampons_."

Edward twitched.

* * *

There was hair in the sink. Alice's hair, to be specific.

Edward felt uncomfortable walking in on his sister cutting her hair. It was the same feeling you would have if you walked in on someone naked. He was witnessing something very private. But not only was her hair shorter than short (a "pixie-cut" was what Alice called it), but it was black instead of pale blonde.

"You dyed your hair?" he asked, hand still frozen on the bathroom doorknob.

Alice set the scissors down on the sink. She checked her reflection in the mirror and grinned.

"Do you like it?" she asked.

"You look weird," he said.

Alice ran a hand through her new haircut, the smile still glued on her face. She took out the drain plug in the sink, turned on the water and sat on the closed toilet seat.

"Love makes us do crazy shit, Eddie," she said.

"You're in love, too?" Edward let out a sigh. "Geez Alice."

"Don't blame me!" Alice said with a laugh. "Blame my heart! Blame Jasper Whitlock!"

"Who?"

"Only the most handsome sophomore to ever acknowledge my existence." Alice was a dramatic girl. This was one of the reasons Carlisle worried about her. The women in the Cullen family were known for their hyperbolic attitudes. "Jasper is so nice to me even though I'm a freshman. He lets me sit at his lunch table and even let me have his cake the other day."

"Wow," Edward said, sarcastically. "True love is so fascinating."

Alice pursed her lips. "When you're in love you'll feel the same way."

Edward knew that day would never come. He was certain that this "love" business was too messy. Love made people change their hair color and feel all mushy. Edward would never fall prey to love. No one measured up to his standards anyway.

He thought of the mousy new girl, Bella, who kept stealing glances at him earlier in school. Did she like him like Alice liked Jasper? For some reason he didn't seem to mind if that were true.

"Why did you change your hair for Jasper anyway?" Edward said, pushing the thoughts out of his mind.

"I heard him say he liked girls with short hair," Alice said. "And high school society doesn't look too kindly on blondies. Either we're sluts or retarded."

Lauren Mallory had blonde hair, but she was neither. Although she did kiss a lot of boys at summer camp.

"Mom and Dad are going to flip out," Edward said.

"That's why I'm going to wear a head scarf around the house," Alice replied. "They'll never know until I'm old enough to get drunk."

There was a knock on the bathroom door. Alice practically jumped out of her skin. But it was just Jessica cracking her Double Bubble gum. She noticed Alice's new hair and squealed.

"Oh wow!" she said. "You look awesome!"

"I think she looks weird." Edward frowned.

Jessica rolled her eyes. "Men."

"Do you want a free haircut?" Alice asked, picking up her scissors.

"Knowing you you'll probably make me bald."

"I think bald is a good look for you," Edward commented.

Jessica stuck out her tongue at him. Then she turned to Alice and said, "Is it a boy?"

"How did you know?" Alice giggled.

"Women's intuition," Jessica replied. "Who is he? Is he cute?"

Alice sighed dreamily and began listing all of Jasper's attributes. Edward took this as his clue to leave. For as long as he lived he would never understand women.

* * *

"Why are we doing this again?"

"Bonding."

The newly formed quartet of Jessica, Edward, Angela and Bella were hiding in a bush near the high school. Alice was staying after school to hang out with Jasper and his friends. They were sitting on the front steps chatting and laughing.

"Which one is he?" Bella asked. She was sitting next to Edward, trying very hard not to bump elbows.

Jessica flipped through Alice's seventh grade year book looking through the Ws. She found Jasper's picture and showed the others.

"That one, I think," Angela said, indicating the tall blonde boy sitting on the stair banister.

"Alice was right." Jessica nodded, approvingly. "He _is_ cute."

Edward gagged. "You're making me sick. Geez. Why did I ever agree to do this? I don't want to know about my sister's love life."

Jasper put his arm around Alice and pulled her closer to him. The girls gushed. Edward found himself glaring at the two of them. He didn't like how Jasper touched her like that. Even though Alice liked him a lot she wasn't supposed to act on it. Edward didn't say anything about actually approaching Jasper. His stomach started twisting into knots. He felt like punching something.

"Ed looks pissed," Jessica whispered into Angela's ear.

"I think he has a sister complex," Angela whispered back.

Edward turned his glare onto them. The girls burst into a fit of giggles and crawled away on their hands and knees. Bella put a small hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sure he's a good guy," she said, smiling nervously. His own heart started to beat faster and faster. "Don't worry."

He really wanted to kiss her right there in that bush. In movies couples usually started kissing near fountains or in elevators. Bella looked like she wanted to kiss him too. She kept her hand on his shoulder, her big brown eyes searching his. It was as if he became someone else entirely. He leaned in closer toward her face, awkwardly trying to maneuver his nose around hers.

"HEY!"

Jessica stood over them, her hands placed firmly on her hips. She had a dangerous look in her eyes. Edward yanked his head away from Bella who shoved her hands in her jean pockets.

"We're leaving now," Jessica said, eyeing them both suspiciously. "Mrs. Weber's gonna take us to the movies."

Edward glanced over at the stairs. Alice, Jasper and their friends had disappeared. He stood and brushed off a few stray leafs stuck to his jacket.

"I can't go," Bella said. "My dad wants us to go fishing while it's still nice out."

Jessica didn't say anything. She turned sharply on her heel and stomped toward Mrs. Weber's minivan. Edward muttered his good-byes and followed.

The car ride toward the movie theater was dead silent. The kids climbed out of the car and waited in line for their tickets. Angela had the unfortunate job of standing in between Jessica and Edward the entire time.

Jessica was so mad she was developing a migraine. She wasn't about to flip out on Edward without knowing the facts. Maybe Edward was just picking some broccoli out of Bella's teeth. They couldn't be _kissing_. The idea of human emotion repulsed Edward. No girl Jessica knew could stand his grumpiness.

She thought of Bella's pretty, heart shaped face and chewed on her lip. She wasn't Edward's type. Too soft, too nice, too everything.

They got their tickets and went into the theater. Angela seated herself near the wall so Edward and Jessica were forced to sit next to each other. Jessica squirmed in her seat, waiting for him to say something.

"Do you think Bella's nice?" he asked.

Wrong question.

"She's fine," Jessica replied, stiffly. "If you like those wimpy types of girls. I can probably mold her into something cool. It'll take some time."

"I like her."

Jessica tensed. She felt her heart getting stuck in her esophagus.

"Really?" she faked a smile. "That's amazing. I never thought you liked anyone."

Edward could tell she was pissed. Her voice had a sharp edge to it. He knew he shouldn't have said anything, but she _was_ his best friend. This was what best friends talked about.

"I was thinking about asking her out," he said, staring at his dingy sneakers.

On the projector screen they were showing an old cartoon. A popcorn box, soda, hotdog and ice cream sundae were doing the can-can. It was one of Jessica's favorites. She always liked the idea of dancing food.

"Hold off for a bit," Jessica said. "I mean…what if she doesn't like you like that?"

"Well –"

"You don't want to be embarrassed," she said, her voice getting higher.

They almost kissed in the bush, but Edward wasn't about to tell her that. Jessica was almost as protective of him as he was of his sister. She would haul off and slug him so hard he would be sent to the hospital crying like a baby.

But he didn't have to explain anything. James and Victoria showed up just as the previews started to play. They apparently were in the middle of a fight so the new seating arrangement had separated Jessica and Edward.

"Are you okay?" Angela asked Jessica, concerned.

"Yeah." Jessica sunk deeper into her chair.

No. She wanted to scream, cry and punch somebody (preferably Bella). She wanted to strangle Edward.

She wanted to do all these things, but she didn't know why.

**A/N: Oh no! I'm sure no one expected this to happen! **


	5. 2000: SlowMo Shopping Carts

_Summer, 2000_

Things had seemed to cool down between Edward and Bella after the bush incident. Maybe it had something to do with Bella's new group of friends. In eighth grade, Bella was scooped up by the nicest girl in school, Tanya Denali.

Tanya was on the same level of pretty as Rosalie, but way nicer. The only bad thing you could say about Tanya Denali was that her nose was too big. But then you would feel horrible afterward because she's so damn nice.

It was slow at first. Every few days Bella would sit with Tanya and her friends (which, surprisingly, consisted of some lovely ladies liked Rosalie and Lauren). Jessica didn't mind. The farther Bella was away from Edward the better.

Angela, being sane and decent, worried about Jessica's crazy jealously toward Bella. Perhaps Jessica was being over-protective of her best friend. Or maybe it was something else that neither girl wanted to dive into just yet.

It was August and August meant the Cullen's annual barbeque. Carlisle and Esme were the type of couple who liked company. If there was a holiday coming up there was sure to be a party at the Cullen's. Sometimes there wasn't even a special occasion.

Jessica was glad to be out of the house. Her parents had been fighting a lot recently. It had been made worse by Elijah's plans to spend the summer with a girl he met at college. They blamed one another for this even though it was Elijah's decision to go. When she mentioned this, her parents only argued harder.

Her friends were lounging about on the Cullen's front lawn. Angela and Bella were there along with Eric, Mike, Lauren, Rosalie and Tanya. Emmett had gone to Disney World on vacation making everyone insanely jealous.

"Hey." Jessica sat down next to Edward who was lying on his back, eyes closed.

"Depressed much?" Lauren said. She had on a pair of over-sized designer sunglasses she stole from her mom's closest. "What happened?"

Jessica sighed. "Nothing. My parents are just fighting again."

"My parents fought a lot too," Rosalie said, nodding her head understandingly. "That's why they got a divorce."

Tanya smacked her lightly on the arm. "Shut up!" she hissed.

Divorce was a scary thing. Jessica's aunt and uncle had gotten one a few years ago. Her mother had sighed and expressed her pity. Jessica's cousins never visited anymore. They lived in New Hampshire with their dad, pretty step-mother and a dog named Kevin. If Jessica's parents were to get a divorce she would have to choose between them. Maybe the Cullen's would let her stay with them.

"Don't worry about it," Edward said, patting her on the ankle.

"It'll blow over," Angela agreed.

Rosalie didn't look too convinced. Jessica felt her stomach twist like she ate something moldy. She glanced up at her house and saw her mom pressing her forehead against the kitchen window. From where she was sitting, Jessica could see the hollow look on her face. She noticed Jessica noticing and forced a cheery smile.

"Let's play double-dutch," Tanya suggested. "I heard you're really good at it, Jess."

"With those big feet?" Edward smirked. "Maybe in Hell."

Jessica punched him in the gut.

* * *

That night Jessica found herself standing outside Edward's window in the humid midnight air. It had been ages since she snuck into his room for an unannounced slumber party. She had felt too old for stupid things like that. It was on the same level as a security blanket or a stuffed animal. But Jessica had spent two hours tossing and turning before deciding to throw caution to the wind.

The window was closed, which was rare for him to do in the summertime. Maybe he had foreseen her attempt to sneak in. Edward was getting more intuitive every day.

She started tapping on the glass with her nails. Through the window she could see Edward move under his navy blue bedspread. Jessica tapped "let me in asshole" in Morse code (one of the few things Elijah had taught her while in a good mood).

Edward slowly, as if to spite her, climbed out of bed and shuffled to the window to open it.

"What do you want?" he asked. His usually well kept hair was sticking out at odd angles. Jessica would have laughed if she didn't feel like throwing up.

"This is really serious," she said. "Even more serious than the time I watched _The Shining_ when I wasn't supposed to and had all those nightmares."

Edward sighed. "Come in."

Pleased with the hospitality, Jessica hurdled into the room and set both feet gracefully on the shag carpeting. She had been doing this for years and knew how to execute an Olympic worthy landing.

"So what's the crisis now?" Edward asked sliding back into bed (he had switched his race car bed out for a more practical twin). Jessica snuggled under the covers until only her forehead was showing.

"It's about what Rosalie said."

"She wasn't calling you fat because you ate four hotdogs."

Jessica shook her head. "No. About…" she paused, a lump developing in her throat. She was embarrassed for worrying. "divorce."

"Don't listen to what she says," Edward said, his voice softening. He hated it when Jess freaked out over stupid junk like that. She got so worked up that she cried until he bought her a candy bar from the corner store. "Rosalie isn't so tuned in to other people's feelings."

Jessica shifted closer to Edward. "I was just thinking of the possibility," she said. "I mean, if they did get a divorce I would probably have to move away."

Edward thought of what his life would be if Jessica wasn't there to fill it with happiness and aggravation. Sometimes he said mean things to her, but he honestly did not know how he would get along without her. No more late night rendezvous, no more secret blood pacts, no more movie nights, no more clever insults, no more of her smiles, no more of anything fun.

"You would have to slow-mo run through the airport to stop me from leaving," Jessica said, her voice barely a whisper. She was picturing the moment in her head like an old black and white movie. "Then you would pick me up and twirl me around and tell me that we're best friends forever. And BFFs aren't allowed to be split up."

"Why would I do that?"

"It's in all the good movies," she replied, closing her eyes.

"Yeah," he said making a face. "But they start kissing to."

"We'll skip that part then."

Jessica fell asleep, her head nuzzled into the crook of Edward's elbow. He took one look at her peaceful face and knew that this would be their last sleepover for awhile.

* * *

Eric sent a message around the cul-de-sac alerting everyone of an awesome new thingamabob he had gotten. Jessica, Edward, Lauren and Mike were waiting impatiently to find out what exactly the thingamabob was. Eric had covered the lumpy object with an old musky blanket.

"Ladies and gentlemen…" he began waving his arms around like a magician. "I present to you the most awesome thingamabob to ever enter the cul-de-sac!"

He ripped off the blanket to reveal a beaten up shopping cart. Lauren snorted.

"What?" Eric snapped.

"Where did you find that?" Mike asked contrasting Lauren's disbelief with childlike wonder.

"Someone just left it at the bottom of the Hill," Eric explained. "I thought we could ride down the Hill in it."

The road leading out of the cul-de-sac was extremely steep and exciting. It was so spectacular that it was capitalized for life. Some of the older kids dared each other to go down the Hill on their bikes or skateboards. Rumor was that no one came back from the Hill unscathed.

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Edward said, eyeing the shopping cart warily.

"Come on!" Jessica whined. "Dude! Live a little! When you're a grownup you won't be able to ride in shopping cart ever again!"

Lauren rolled her eyes. "I'm going home. One of you is going to die a tragic shopping cart induced death and I'm not going to stick around to see it."

She turned on her heel, her blonde hair whipping Mike in the face, and strode off elsewhere. Edward considered following her lead, but Jessica had her fingernails digging into his skin.

"I'm going first," she announced.

"No way," Mike argued.

"Ladies first," Jessica said. She climbed into the shopping cart and ordered someone to start pushing her already.

"Let's go!" she said hopping up and down, her face flushed with excitement.

Edward, her slave for life, stepped forward and began pushing her toward the Hill. Eric and Mike followed playing Rock Paper Scissors to decide who would be next. From the shopping cart the Hill looked even more frightening than it usually did. Jessica chewed on her bottom lip.

From her perspective rolling down the Hill in a flimsy shopping cart didn't seem fun anymore. What if she died? She hadn't even written her will yet! Edward would defiantly keep her ashes after her cremation.

"Do you still want to do this?" Edward asked noticing her panicked expression.

"You can't back out now, Stanley," Eric said.

"Don't wimp out," Mike added.

Jessica narrowed her eyes. "Shut up," she sneered. "I bet I can go farther than both of you."

"Alright then," Eric said. "We'll make it ten bucks then. You in, Ed?"

Edward shook his head, his grip growing tighter on the cart. The nagging voice in the back of his brain was telling him to stop this silly game. Someone was bound to hurt.

"Push me," Jessica said, determinedly. She was scared, but excited too. Like a roller coaster that freaks you out in the beginning but ends up being hella awesome in the end. She had to prove herself to the guys and get their money.

Edward pushed the cart and it went shot down the Hill like a speeding bullet. Jessica shut her eyes, letting out a shriek that could crack windows. Adrenaline coursed through her veins. She felt like she could pick up a house or some crazy shit like that. All seemed perfect until the cart's front wheel caught on a pothole.

The boys watched in horror as Jessica flew head first out of cart like a bird. She stayed air born for what seemed like a billion years until she connected with asphalt. There was a sickening crunch and then pain. Tears formed in her eyes, but she struggled to hold them back.

Mike sprinted down the hill to see if she was alright. Eric ran the other way to Jessica's house to tell her parents. Edward just stood frozen in place. His whole world felt like slow-mo. Except it wasn't running through an airport slow-mo. It was oh-no-one-of-the-main-characters-is-dead slow-mo.

Edward remembered how he felt when he imagined a world with no Jessica Stanley. His heart ached at the thought. Down below, Mike was saying something to Jessica, but she was close to losing consciousness. There would be no more fun adventures. Just casseroles and dirt.

The Stanley's SUV rushed past him down the Hill to bring Jessica to the hospital. Her mother was in the passenger seat breathing in and out of a brown paper bag. Jessica was quickly loaded into the car by her father who appeared calm. The car speeded away.

Eric appeared behind Edward. He was doubled over and out of breath.

"Is she okay?" Edward asked. All the miserable thoughts previously occupying his brain were hastily discarded. Now he just felt stupid. Of course it wasn't serious.

"Probably just broke something," Eric replied, slapping him on the back. "But damn that was sick."

* * *

Jessica had a broken arm and was happier than ever.

For one, the doctor gave her a _pink_ cast. It matched perfectly with almost all of her outfits. Everyone thought she was _so_ cool for having a cast. She had gotten a billion requests to sign it.

Her parents had stopped fighting to take care of her. Jessica got to lie around the house all day and didn't have to do any chores. Her dad watched cheesy game shows and ate sherbet with her. Her mom even smiled more. They lounged in lawn chairs drinking kiddy cocktails until the stars came around.

The only downside was that Edward had begun avoiding her. He hadn't visited her since the accident. Lauren had an explanation at the ready.

"He's uber pissed at you," she said after taking a long dramatic sip of her lemonade. "Like, every time we mention you his ears get all red."

The universal sign of an angry Edward Cullen.

"Why is _he_ mad at _me_?" Jessica asked a little outraged (a little, not a lot). "That ridiculous."

Lauren shrugged. "I have no clue. I asked him what was up his ass, in a totally nice way I might add, and he just stalked off! Is there such a thing as boy PMS?"

This bit of information gnawed at Jessica for the remainder of the afternoon. She contemplated going over to the Cullen's to say hello, but didn't want to upset him further.

"Maybe I'll just say hi to Alice," Jessica said to herself as she rang the Cullen's doorbell. "No harm in that."

Alice opened the door grinning from ear to ear. Of course this wasn't different from any other day. Ever since Jasper asked her out Alice had been the most cheerful person on the planet. Some people were getting tired of her constant positivity (mainly her pessimistic little brother).

"Edward's in his room," Alice said. "But he's not 'taking visitors' right now." She smiled even brighter. "Little shit."

Jessica sniffed indignantly. "I'm not here to see him. I just came over to hang out with you. I wanted you to draw a cool design on my cast. Please?"

Alice ushered her in. The Cullen's house always looked sparkling clean. Even the floors had the right amount of sheen to them. Jessica was afraid to step on them even with her bare feet.

"How's Jasper?" she asked as they walked upstairs to Alice's room. Edward's door was shut tightly. A Do Not Disturb sign was hung around the door knob.

"We're eloping."

"Really?" Jessica gaped.

"Man you're gullible," Alice said laughing.

Jasper was sitting at Alice's desk in the corner. His legs were too long though, so he looked really awkward and squished. He was playing with one of those stress ball guys and making his eyes pop out of his head. Jessica was a little surprised to see him. Alice had never introduced them.

"This is Jasper," Alice said. She sat on the desk and kissed him on the forehead. "How do you feel about eloping, Jazz? Yes? No?"

"You're Edward's friend," Jasper said.

Jessica nodded. "Yeah."

"You should talk to him," Jasper said. "He's worried about you."

"If he's worried," Jessica found herself saying. "Then why hasn't he told me?"

"Ed has too much pride in that dumb head of his," Alice said, knocking on Jasper's skull with her fist. "Go to him, Jessica! Go!!!"

"Now I'm too upset."

"Well then if you don't leave Jasper and I are gonna start Frenching."

Jessica left.

* * *

Edward was scribbling something intensely at his desk. Jessica crept into his room. She was afraid that he was going to yell at her, but carried on regardless. She reminded herself of what Jasper had told her.

Edward was bad at expressing his emotions while Jessica kept heart on sleeve 24/7.

"I told you to go away, Alice," Edward muttered.

"It's just me," Jessica said in a tiny voice that wasn't her own. Her heart was pounding against her rib cage.

"Oh." Edward remained facing the wall.

"You haven't signed my cast yet." Jessica sat on his bed, her eyes trained on the floor. "I saved you a space on the hand part so I can always see it."

An uncomfortable followed. Jessica wanted to scream or laugh too loud or do something distracting. He wasn't even looking at her!

"Here," Jessica said. She stuck her arm out. "Sign right here."

Edward fidgeted in his seat. "I don't have a marker."

"You have one in your hand."

"…"

Jessica stood and moved behind him to see what he was writing. She caught a glimpse of pink and green polka dots before Edward hid it with his arms.

"Is it a love letter?" she joked.

Again, Edward didn't say a word. She was starting to get pissed. Her nerves washed away giving way to frustration.

"Lauren told me that you were mad at me," Jessica snapped. "I guess she was right about that! And to think that I thought you were worried about me!

"You did piss me off, okay?" Edward admitted. "Because I thought you were dead and I freaked out. Don't do that again or I'll kick your ass. I don't care if you are a girl."

Jessica blinked. He flushed, handing her the mysterious card he had been working on. "Get Well Soon" was written in bright pink. Below it there was a crude stick figure drawing of Jessica in a pink cast.

"After you're better I'm gonna beat you up," Edward frowned. "So be ready."

Jessica's eyes got all teary. She nodded and laughed, her nose getting runny.

"You idiot! Don't cry!" Edward ordered.

"I'm not," she retorted. "Christ!"

They spent the rest of the day playing Atari.

**A/N: New chapter yay! I might put this on pause until I finish my other fanfiction, but I swear it won't take very long! Thanks again to eveyone who reviewed and alerted and favorited. By the way, I saw Robert Pattinson on _The Daily Show_ last night and wanted to just take a comb to that mane of his xD I'm warming up to you, Rob!**


	6. 2001: Snowball Fight

_Winter, 2001_

Jessica hated the winter. It was cold and snowy and you couldn't wear flip-flops. Every morning she had to dress for school in a heavy coat, gloves, hat, scarf, and boots. She missed the feeling of the warm summer air on her cheeks. The sound of cicadas buzzing in the afternoon heat. Rolling down grassy hills with no shoes on. The only decent thing about winter was Christmas.

That year she had gotten a Golden Retriever puppy. The Stanley's couldn't have a dog before due to Elijah's allergies. Jessica named her Lady after that one Disney flick with the spaghetti. Jessica spent her Christmas break playing with Lady (who had to be kept on a chain so she wouldn't run away).

Edward hung out with them too, but stayed as far away from Lady as possible. He didn't trust her innocent eyes and milky white teeth. Also, Lady liked to jump on Edward whenever he was near her. The first time he took his embarrassment out on Jessica by throwing a snowball at the back of her head. She replied by tackling him into a patch of yellow snow.

Jessica and Lady were practicing for an imaginary dog show. Edward sat off to the side playing with his Rubix's Cube.

"And the blue ribbon goes to…" Jessica made a drum roll noise on her knees. "Madame Pumpkin Malone IV!"

Lady barked, her tongue lolling out of her mouth.

"We have to try harder to win," Jessica said, putting both hands on her hips. "Got any tips, Ed?"

"You're giving me a headache," Edward sighed.

Jessica rubbed Lady behind her tiny ears. The dog was almost submerged in the snow.

"Lady wants to give you a kiss," Jessica said. "She's whispering though 'cause she's shy."

"Keep your stupid dog away from me," Edward said.

"Dudes!" Eric and Mike were calling to them from across the street. "Get over here!"

They had built an extravagant snow fort in Eric's front yard. The Yorkie was standing in the window, a murderous intent in her eye. She had asked the boys to shovel the front lawn (they were fourteen now and had to take responsibility for something), but decided to goof off instead.

"What?" Jessica asked, annoyed. "We're training."

"Child's play," Eric scoffed.

"And building a snow fort isn't?"

"We're just preparing," Mike said. "There's gonna be a big snowball fight today."

Jessica perked up. "Really? When?"

"After the girls and Emmett get here," Eric said. "So you better start building your fort."

Jessica hopped up and down and clapped. She grabbed Edward's hand and began walking back to her lawn. "Let's go, Ed!"

Mike clicked his tongue. "Not so fast, Stanley. Edward's on our side."

Edward grimaced. Sometimes Mike didn't think before speaking. Words just came out without his knowledge. Jessica glared at him with the same intensity as the Yorkie.

"Ex-squeeze me? What was that?"

"It's going to be girls vs. boys," Eric answered. "So Edward's with us. Simple."

Edward wiggled out of Jessica's Death Grip. "I think I'm going to sit this one out."

"Pussy!" Mike and Eric jeered.

Edward glared at them. Jessica spun on her heel and said, "Fine. If it's gonna be that way then I'll just have to kick all your asses."

Jessica added another reason to hate winter to her imaginary checklist.

Snowball fights.

* * *

The girls Eric had invited to the snowball blowout consisted of Tanya, Lauren, Rosalie and Bella. Angela couldn't be there because her mother was worried she would slip on some ice and die or something else dramatic.

Jessica surveyed her team, unimpressed.

"This snow fort is really good, Jessica," Tanya said. "Did you make it all by yourself?"

"Yes." Jessica pursed her lips. "If you guys were here _earlier_ than you could have helped me out."

"There was a sale at American Eagle!" Lauren exclaimed. "Did you expect us to drop everything and haul ass to build a damn snow fort?"

Rosalie, surprisingly, seemed really into the impending snowball battle. She had brought along a pair of binoculars and walkie-talkies.

"I got a really nice cardigan, Jessica," Tanya said. She felt guilty and was trying to make up for it. "I'll let you borrow if you want. It's cable knit and orange."

"I call dibs first," Lauren interjected.

"When's this thing starting?" Rosalie asked. She already had a pyramid of snowballs at the ready. Bella was eyeing her warily from her little corner. "What are those jackasses doing over there?"

The jackasses in question were forming a strategy. Well…Eric was forming a strategy. Emmett and Mike were discussing ladies while Edward sulked.

"Rose is a babe," Emmett sighed. "But she's unattainable, y'know? She wouldn't like a schmuck like me. You know how many times I've seen _Star Wars_? I've formed _opinions_, man."

"Same with me and Tanya," Mike said. "That girl is a goddess."

Edward laughed. Tanya Denali was a goddess alright. If goddesses knitted sweaters for their cats.

"Be serious, man!" Eric shouted. "These chicks are going to kill us if we aren't ready! Stop lusting after them and get with the picture!"

A snowball came whizzing out of thin air and hit Emmett dead on.

"Take that, losers!" Rosalie shouted.

The rest of the girls gaped at her.

"I'm competitive," she explained matter-of-factly.

* * *

After a few arguments and punches to the ovaries, the girls were finally working as a team. Bella and Tanya were making artillery for Rosalie to hurl across the street. Jessica was shocked at the velocity of a Rosalie Hale Snowball Cannon. She wasn't even worried about "chipping nails" or any of the other ridiculous woes of girldom.

Lauren wasn't doing anything and received most of the aforementioned punches to the ovaries. Jessica made sure she would never have any children.

"What's the point of all this anyway?" Lauren asked. She was bored out her freaking mind and wanted to go back to the mall to drool over the half-naked Hollister models. "How do you win?"

"First to surrender," Jessica explained.

"Or first to die," Rosalie added.

Lauren stared at her friend blankly. "Who the hell are you and what did you do to Rosalie Hale?"

"Relax," Jessica said. "All of the endorphins are going to Rosie's head making her batshit insane."

Back at the boy's side things were getting desperate. Eric was growing tired with his troops who were slowly sinking into misery.

"Does your mom have any Ovaltine?" Emmett asked Eric. The former's head was sprinkled with ice and snow. He was too tall to hide under the snow fort and got pelted with Rosalie's snowballs. The others were using him as a human shield.

"I'm getting a bit tired myself," Mike said. The initial excitement of a snowball fight was gone.

"You guys are a bunch of pusses," Eric said narrowing his eyes.

Jessica popped up from behind their snow fort, a taunting smile on her face. "Ready to surrender?"

"Never," Eric shouted. "This isn't over yet, Stanley. Don't get too cocky!"

"You wish you had a cock," Jessica said, mishearing what Eric had said.

Eric angrily scooped up an already made snowball and threw it at Jessica's big mouth with all his might (mind you, it wasn't a small target). She dodged, cackling like the Wicked Witch of the West.

"Chew on this," Edward said flatly. He tossed a snowball at the girls half-heartedly. It arched in the air before plopping down on the asphalt in front of him.

The girls burst into a giggle fit. Even Bella exhibited some non-robotic behavior by grinning brightly. Edward flushed and disappeared behind the fort. Jessica was having so much fun with her friends that she didn't notice Lady was gone.

That is, until Lauren pointed it out.

"Hey," she said indicated the chain tied up to the Stanley's staircase. "Where did your dog go, Jess?"

Jessica turned sharply on her boot heel to look at where Lauren was pointing. Lady's hot pink collar was still hooked on the chain, but the dog part was missing. Jessica was so preoccupied with this that she didn't see Mike's snowball flying at her. It pegged her right on the side of her face.

"I got you!" he taunted. "Ha ha, Jess! I got you!"

"Lady's gone!" she shouted back. "Oh my God in Heaven call the SWAT Team!"

"I don't think the SWAT Team cares about missing dogs," Lauren pointed out.

"The A Team on the other hand…" Tanya trailed off.

Jessica ran around her yard like a chicken with its head cut off, screaming Lady's name. The boys were confused and trekked over to the girl's fort to see what was going on.

"Jessica's dog is missing," Tanya said absently tapping her big nose. "Isn't that awful?"

"Not really," Edward said. "I hate that dog."

Jessica stomped over to Edward and grabbed him by the collar. His best friend forever was getting more violent every day. It all stemmed from that fateful day when she socked James in the nose. Bloodshed was Jessica's favorite thing next to the color pink and Edward Cullen.

"Lady is going to be found," Jessica growled. "And you're going to help me."

She let go of him and turned to the others. "Alright, gang. Let's split up and find my dog. This is a matter of life and death. There are bears out there that eat cute, small puppies like her."

"I don't think they're any bears - " Emmett began to say, but was cut off by Jessica's Evil Eye.

Everyone split up to search for Lady, but Edward stayed behind with Jessica. She sat down in the snow and rested her forehead on her knees.

"I'm going to be a horrible mother," she said.

"I don't see what that has to do with losing your dog," Edward said sitting next to her.

"How am I going to take care of my future children when I can't even look after my own dog," Jessica whimpered. "I'll drive my kid to soccer practice then go get accidentally drunk and forget about him because work was so stressful that day."

"Didn't your mom do that to you when you were nine?"

"Why do think I quit playing soccer?"

"Jenna Hanson told me you had rheumatoid arthritis and were unable to finish the year."

"Lies. All lies."

Edward never thought of Jessica as the mothering type. She was always acting like the gangsters in 1940's movies. Sometimes she talked like Sam Spade during dinner conversation at Cotillion. Her kids would no doubt be cynical and dye their hair different colors.

"I think you'd be an excellent mother," Edward said hesitantly.

"I'll drive those kids to an early grave," Jessica muttered.

Suddenly, there was an energetic barking noise coming from the Cullen's backyard. Both kids jumped up and ran to check it out. Alice and Jasper were kneeling beside Lady who was rolling around in the snow.

"Lady!" Jessica cried. She scooped up her puppy and kissed the top of her head. "I was so scared!"

"Sorry." Alice smiled apologetically. "She came back here and I thought she was just the cutest thing. We were just playing with her."

Jessica was too busy hugging and kissing Lady to care. She held her up in the air and twirled around, laughing and crying at the same time. Edward didn't understand how she could care so much about a stupid, annoying dog. But then again, he didn't get why she hung around him either.

**A/N: Sorry I haven't updated lately. [Insert lame excuse about school here]. This chapter is based off REAL EVENTS! My friend's dog ran off and I chased her across the street with no shoes on in the gosh darn snow xD They only had had the dog for a few days and my friend was freaking out. I got grounded for not having any sense in my head. I guess that's what you get for trying to be a heroine.**


	7. 2002: Eye Luv U

_Fall, 2002_

Tenth grade was the start of many tragic snapshots to be pasted into Jessica Stanley's Scrapbook of Pain.

Edward and Bella began dating at the beginning of tenth grade. She asked him in a note during eighth period algebra. Jessica was not there to witness these events, but Lauren was and told her everything in lurid description.

"So I was talking to Jenna about this groovy lava lamp I bought at Spencer's and she was like, 'Oh that's so cool' and I said, 'I know, right?' and then Mr. Porter was like, "Mallory, can you shut your trap for five minutes?' and I was like, 'Whatever, dude. Not like I'm going to use this stuff in the _real world_''. I mean, who goes out and calculate sales tax? That's what cash registers are for."

Jessica stepped on Lauren's foot with her Doc Martins which translated to: Get to the point you stupid bitch.

"Anyway," Lauren continued, glaring at Jessica. "I saw Bella pass Edward this note and since I was behind him I could read it, y'know? It said something like, 'Do you want to go out, or something?'"

"That's so lame," Jessica said.

She tried to act cool, but inside she felt her organs shrivel up. She thought that those two were done with each other. Edward never mentioned that he liked her. She was under the impression that he didn't like girls altogether. The only lady he wanted to be with was her and her alone. It was selfish, but it made her feel wanted.

At lunch, Edward sat with Bella every other day. One day he would sit with Jessica and Angela and the next day he would sit with Bella and her friends. Angela tried to engage Jessica in conversation when Edward was missing, but she was unresponsive.

"This thing is really messing you up," Angela finally said one day at lunch.

"What thing?" Jessica asked. She was mutilating her napkin, throwing the pieces at a slumbering Emmett.

"The whole Edward-Bella thing!" Angela exclaimed, exasperated.

Ever since puberty Jessica had been acting insanely passive aggressive making her a pain in the ass to talk to about feelings. Jessica liked to pretend the feelings were never there in the first place. She neatly locked them away in the back of her head.

Jessica remained silent. She just kept ripping apart her napkins (now with more force than necessary) until Angela confiscated them. She was secretly grateful that she didn't have to worry about men (well…there was Ben Cheney, but Angela would never admit that to anyone ever).

"Why is their thing such a problem for you?" Angela asked.

"It's not a problem," Jessica replied. "I think they're the perfect couple. He's emotionally stunted and she's a cow. That's material right there."

Angela rolled her eyes. Pretty soon, Jessica's bottled up emotions were going to spew all over everyone like a shaken up Dr. Pepper. Angela didn't want to be around for that.

"Maybe you should talk to him about it," Emmett mumbled.

Jessica chucked her empty strawberry milk carton at his head. "Shut up. What do you know?"

"Please. I'm a relationship guru."

"Since when?"

"Since Rosalie and I started dating."

Emmett had asked Rosalie to be his girlfriend over the summer. She had said yes much to everyone's shock and confusion. No one was quite sure what she saw in him besides his gradually improved good looks. Half the girls in the tenth grade were going gaga over him when they weren't writing Mrs. Edward Cullen in their notebooks a gazillion times.

The tension between Jessica and Edward the following weeks was so tangible you could slice it with a knife. She refused to speak with him if Bella was present. And if they did magically decide to talk to each other, Edward couldn't say Bella's name without Jessica making a snide comment.

He didn't like where Jessica's attitude was going. Edward liked Bella and didn't feel comfortable when Jessica demeaned her.

"I think she's mad because you aren't paying attention to her anymore," Alice suggested when he asked her for advice.

Alice was a senior in high school now and took beginner psychology. She had convinced herself that she knew everything about the human psyche. Edward was her favorite patient.

"I try to talk to her," Edward argued. "But she ignores me."

"You have a new woman in your life," Alice said, her nose stuck in a psych book. "I think she's jealous."

Edward didn't believe his sister (mostly because she was failing psychology). Something else must have been wrong. Maybe it was her parents again. She wasn't talking about them as much as she used to. The cul-de-sac parents loved to get together and gossip about the Stanley's marriage. Esme didn't care for gossiping, but Edward knew she didn't think their marriage was going so smooth either.

He decided to confront her. Normally, Edward would have let Jessica work this out herself, but things were getting dire. He honestly missed her old self, not the quiet, bitter girl she was turning into.

It was a Sunday morning when he decided to pounce. Jessica was outside raking the leaves for her dad. He had strained his back at work and was making Jessica do his chores for extra money. She bitched and moaned about it, but still did it for the cash. There was a pair of roller-skates she was dying to get her hands on.

Edward casually passed by, stopped and called out her name. She didn't look up.

"Jess!" he called again. "Jess! Jess, you know I'm here. I want to ask you something."

Jessica pursed her lips and glowered at him. "I'm busy."

"It'll only take a second."

She begrudgingly complied. Edward cleared his throat and said, "Is…is there anything going on with you? I mean…your acting really distant."

Jessica perked up. He was actually worried about her? Here she thought he was stuck on Cloud Nine with Bella. Jessica played off her excitement by acting cool. She was getting good at that.

"No. I'm fine."

"If there's anything going on with your parents…" Edward trailed off, afraid of what she might say. Would she yell at him for poking around in her personal life? Well, he was her best friend after all. It was his right to snoop. Hell, it was his right to _know_.

Jessica smiled the first genuine smile she had smiled in ages. It felt nice to do something besides frown. Didn't smiling help you live longer? Or was that laughing?

"I'm fantastic," she said, feeling her heart swell like a balloon.

"Do you want to hang out later?" Edward asked.

"Can we go bowling?" Jessica said. "I haven't been bowling in ages. I love those stupid clown shoes they make you wear. And I can slide on the lanes like in _Grease 2_."

The girl was coming back. Edward felt his faith in humanity restored.

"Alright. It's a date."

Jessica's heart burst.

* * *

Jessica peered out her window at ten o'clock. She had been at home all day waiting for Edward to pick her up for their bowling "date". He never came, and she never considered going over to the Cullen's to pick him up herself.

Now she was looking out her window at the scenic view of Edward and Bella kissing. Jessica felt like crying. Warm tears stung her eyes, but she hurriedly wiped them away. She didn't want her mother catching her crying. Counselors would be called and tea would be made. Jessica hated tea.

She watched Edward and Bella kissing and imagined what it would be like if she was the one kissing Edward.

She shook the sordid thoughts out of her head, trying to forget the sensation. Jessica had never been kissed. There were quick pecks on the cheeks by those stupid ex-boyfriends she thought she liked. Either they were too polite or she was too scared.

Now she pictured Edward's arms wrapped around her and his scent and the feeling of lips.

Jessica shut the blinds, changed into her nightgown and went to bed feeling warm all over.

* * *

The second tragic event came in the form of an epiphany.

Jessica was in love with Edward.

Maybe it was love. She didn't know what to call it. All she knew was that whenever he was around her now Jessica's face would turn red and her brain would close down for business. It was probably a phase. Her head was telling her things that weren't true. It orchestrated day dreams that made her cheeks turn the same shade as her cherry lip balm.

"Snap out of it!" Jessica would say as she scolded herself in the bathroom mirror. "You are going insane. That's the only explanation. Insanity."

Because Edward was her friend and you don't love your friends. At least not in _that way_.

And yet the thoughts lingered and the sight of him sent her heart into a frenzy. A laser light show turned horribly wrong.

Jessica decided she had to do something about this before she went off the deep end. She stuck a post-it in Edward's locker telling him to meet her in the tree house after school that day. She half-expected him not to show up.

But Edward was already there waiting for her when she arrived at the tree house. She stood at the bottom of the ladder staring up at him.

"What's with that look?" he asked, frowning.

"Are you a ghost?" Jessica teased. "You can't really be _my_ Edward. He's never this reliable."

Edward flushed. "Shut up. What do you want?"

Jessica climbed up the ladder and sat down next to him. She put on a big show of straightening out the creases in her dress and fixing her hair. Her legs felt like Jell-O. Was she really ready to go through with this?

"How are things with you and Bella?" Jessica managed. Her voice was shaking.

"Why do you always have to ask about that?" Edward sighed. "Can't we talk about something else?"

"I haven't had a civilized conversation with you in months," Jessica said. Tears were threatening to spill out of her eyes at any second. She mentally sucker punched herself. "Do you like the same things? Ninja Turtles? Power Rangers?"

"What about you?" Edward said, smirking. "Hello Kitty? Where's Waldo?"

"I can beat anyone at Where's Waldo. I'm practically an expert."

An uncomfortable silence followed. Jessica could feel the gap that had developed between them over the last few months. She wanted to throw her arms around him and hug him until the moon came up. She wanted to kiss him until her lips fell off.

Jessica looked down at her shoes. She hated these new fucked up feelings.

"I…" she began.

Edward looked at her, concerned. "What?"

"I just wanted to tell you…" Jessica took a deep breath like she was going underwater. "I love you."

Edward looked puzzled for a moment. Then he grinned and said, "Yeah. I love you too, Jess. Your practically my sister."

Jessica's mouth tasted sour. She wanted to suck back the words she had just said. Rewind time.

"I-I'll see you later, okay?" she quickly made her way back down the ladder, to solid ground. "I got stuff to do at home."

Edward watched her run into her house and slam the back door, almost shattering the glass. He heard her mother ask what was wrong and the 'nothing's and 'I'm fine's. Edward could see Jessica in her bedroom. She was pacing around, talking to herself.

Their gazes met for a brief moment before she shut the curtains.

**A/N: Sorry this took so long!!! I'm sure the next chapter won't be so long a wait :D Because next time on the Jessica and Edward saga: it's prom time and crazy shit always happens at proms (ex: murders). I'm sure there won't be any one those in this story (dundunDUN!). **


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